A more in depth look at Morgan Stanley’s returns on equity reveal an even uglier snapshot of performance than the unimpressive, cursory annual overview illustrated in our quarterly analysis released yesterday. Bubblicious credit, QE x 2, and regulators that look the other way from rotting assets still result in piss poor economic performance. What do you think will happen when rates resume their upward move?

In the popular view, a coup d'etat is a sudden event, over in a few hours or at most days, a drama played out in impoverished Third World nations. The stealth coup which has occurred in the U.S. is an entirely different kind of coup--one that has operated in stealth mode for the most part, a process of gradual infiltration and opportunistic grasping of key levers of dependence and control.

“Goldman, unlike the rest of the street and practically the rest of the I banking world, is ratcheting up VIE risk!!! Is BoomBustBlog the only one inquiring as to WHY??? We have a few reasons in mind… And to think, many thought the Enronesque days of “hide the sausage” games have come to an end…”

As our economy hurtles towards its meeting with destiny, the political class seeks to assign blame on their enemies for this Greater Depression. The Republicans would like you to believe that Bill Clinton, Robert Rubin, Chris Dodd, and Barney Frank and their Community Reinvest Act caused the collapse of our financial system. Democrats want you to believe that George Bush and his band of unregulated free market capitalists created a financial disaster of epic proportions. The truth is that America has been captured by a financial class that makes no distinction between parties. These barbarians have sucked the life out of a once productive nation by raping and pillaging with impunity while enriching only them. They live in 20,000 square foot $10 million mansions in Greenwich, CT and in $3 million dollar penthouses on Central Park West. These are the robber barons that represent the Age of Mammon

Until I began to examine the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul bill I had no idea that it would so significantly change the direction of the United States. It's scope is so vast and pervasive that it is difficult to grasp its totality. I wrote this article to try to explain this and why I believe it is so important for us to understand it. This is the final part of this four part series. I examine the consequences of Dodd-Frank.